


Shifting Winds and Hearts

by GoldnTangerines



Category: One Piece
Genre: Abduction, Angst, Brotp, Death worms, Desert, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fighting, Fluff and Angst, Humor, Law is a big brother to his crew and no-one can tell me otherwise, Violence, will put more Tags as this goes along
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:20:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23718085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoldnTangerines/pseuds/GoldnTangerines
Summary: This is a first work from me to the one piece fandom and the LawNa ship!I hope this first chapter is to your liking.
Relationships: Heart Pirates & Trafalgar D. Water Law, Nami/Trafalgar D. Water Law
Comments: 6
Kudos: 13





	1. Divide and Conquer

**Author's Note:**

> This is a first work from me to the one piece fandom and the LawNa ship!  
> I hope this first chapter is to your liking.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (whoops forgot the summary on initial posting but here goes)
> 
> As the Alliance between the Heart Pirates and Straw hats continues growing strong, Dark winds are stirring with the intent on splitting and destroying both crews. What can a certain red-haired navigator do when she is now the impromptu passenger of her allied captains ship?

Nami looked to the side awkwardly as Law diligently wrapped gauze around her wounded right arm but held still as he sternly told her to, even though the pain was extremely hard to ignore considering that it was a deep gash, she got lucky it didn't hit any arteries and required stitching to close. Wincing slightly as He wrapped the last of it on her arm tightly, He quickly muttered a “sorry” before standing to turn around for the desk sitting across his infirmary. To her, the infirmary of the heart pirates submarine had always been far too cold for her liking, in comparison to choppers infirmary back on the sunny, she could always count on the friendly feel of the room as well as the irresistibly cute doctor to make her feel at ease. but the dark doctors own operation room was always hospital like in its neatness, much like the mans habits themselves.

While Laws Blue and black feathered hoody clad back was turned to her, she thought back to the unfortunate events that led them to her current situation of being on another captains ship rather than the thousand sunny and the rest of the crew. ‘I _hope those damn idiots don't get themselves killed...’_

* * *

The first thing to go wrong that day was the dwindling supplies both crews had on each ship. it seemed the next island they both intended to go to was quite the distance away, and with a bottomless pit for a stomach that Luffy had, it was a wonder they hadn't lost all their food and starved to death. In the next moment without warning, marine ships had surrounded them and caught them by surprise with the dilapidated state everyone was in. The constant canon fire inevitably struck the polar tangs propellers preventing the heart pirates from submerging and using the sea as an advantage. Eventually the surrounding ships came close enough to begin boarding both pirate vessels in order to begin a closer assault and attempt to capture. 

To her, the situation seemed manageable despite the advantage the marines thought they had over the allied crews. Out on the enemy ships, She could see Zoro, Luffy, and Sanji beating the living daylights out of any grunt marine in reach. The rest of the crew herself included took care of the marines that managed to board the sunny. A quick look off the left starboard side showed how the Heart pirates were fairing.

To an untrained eye, it would seem like marines were able to slip past Law and his ‘ROOM’ to get at his crew but Nami begged to differ. With a quick roll of her eyes, she turned her focus back on the swiftly dwindling enemies left on the ship. ‘ _How considerate of him, he could of easily taken all of those grunts on but he chose not to for the sake of their pride_ ’.

When the battle seemed certain to be on the pirates side of things, a tall, dark figure approached from one of the marine ships directly in front of the two crews ships.’ _Not good, I can tell something is off about this guy. how the hell did he manage to stay out of the fray this long unnoticed and why the hell does it have to be the one ship the three knuckleheads didn't jump on_!’

Her Panicked monologuing was interrupted by a deep booming voice emanating from the figure. Finally stepping into the light, the suns rays revealed a tall slim man whose face revealed sharp features, a scar across his forehead, shaggy mid length midnight hair and chin shrouding beard to match. But the most striking feature on the mans face was his sharp green eyes, along with the vice admiral jacket hanging off his shoulder and waving in the wind.

“YOU FOOLS I THOUGHT YOU WORMS COULD HANDLE A COUPLE OF PIRATE UPSTARTS WHILE THEY WERE DOWN BUT I GUESS I WAS WRONG TO THINK SO.”

Reeling back a tad, and closer to the starboard railing from the sheer volume of the mans voice. Nami shuddered slightly from the anger surging from his word. ‘Geez this guys got a few screws loose...”

Suddenly, the ship before them began to careen right for their positions, seemingly in a rush to crash into both ships. ‘ _That ships moving way too fast to be normal_ ’ And sure enough, getting enough clarity to think, She realized with a start that before the assault began and even during the fight, the new world waters had managed to maintain a relatively normal wind speed. While the sails on the Vice admirals ship seemed to strain harshly against their strapping ropes to the mast. “Hey Luffy! that big guy must have some type of wind devil fruit to speed up his ship! we’re going to to be in deep shit if we don't find a way out of this!”

Realizing the new trouble they were in, The monster trio rushed to finish their battles and return to the sunny to stand behinds its figurehead, poised at the ready. The heart pirates and their captain too posed to react to any oncoming attack.

But before anyone could react, the vice admiral spoke once more, seemingly having his voice significantly amplified by the winds being generated on his sails. “ FINE THEN, IF I CANT TRUST MY OWN MEN TO SETTLE THINGS ON SOME WORTHLESS PIRATES THEN I WILL JUST HAVE TO DO THINGS MYSELF.”

Having declared his intentions, the man gave no chance for the surprised pirates to prepare for his next and massive attack.

“BEHOLD THE DESTRUCTIVE POWER OF THE TAIFU-TAIFU NO MI, YOU DAMN PIRATES.” 

without anymore explanation or rather screaming, the vice admiral proceeded to draw his arms straight up into the sky, quickly forming a massive ball of hurricane force winds and tossing it towards the middle of both ships.

Surprised by the size and speed of the attack. both crews had little time to prepare or defend themselves before being bombarded by massive wind speeds. some winds of which had enough force to make cries of pain ring out on either side including Nami.

shrieking with pain as her arms were being scratched to bits, Nami, having been standing dangerously close to the railing of the sunny before being preoccupied by the admirals aggravated roars. Was swiftly sent flying over the railing and towards the sea.”ROOM.”

before she knew it, Nami fell into solid, muscular arms before being carried off inside the Polar Tang. the door to the hatch barely shut before an extreme lurch sent crew members, new passenger, captain, and all to the wall of the immediate hallway. this lurch and pressure did not let up for a while yet. To Nami, it felt like an eternity before she finally fell into the lap of a pair of familiar spotted jeans.

Scrambling to sit up, Nami leaned heavily against Laws right shoulder, catching her breathy before scrabbling to stand up. Unfortunately for her, a certain surgeon of death swiftly grabbed onto the uninjured skin of her lift wrist to firmly pull her back down to him. “Don't act too recklessly Nami-ya, or your going to aggravate your injuries even more.”

“Says the creep holding me to his crotch!” She weakly argued. lightly smacking his chest bore wincing and craddling her injured shoulder.

“Stop that.” He ordered firmly before gently positioning her so that his left hand could rest on her back while his right wrapped beneath her knees so that he could effortlessly lift her up and carry her towards the infirmary.

Leaning in so that his hot breath could caress over her ear. He spoke in an unfairly sultry manner. “In any other situation than this one Nami-ya, I wouldn't mind having you sit in my lap.” turning to him in outrage, She smacked his chest harder again even through the pain. “Oh shut up you!.”

Chuckling at her anger, Law continued on towards the infirmary, intent on treating her and those of his crew who were hurt in the battle.

* * *

“Did you really have to use that much of your power sir? you quite literally sent them flying in opposite directions for who knows how far.”

In response, the Vice admirals face lit up with a faint blush dusting his cheeks. Luckily for him he was facing away from his questioning subordinate. “shut up..” he spoke uncharacteristically quietly for a man so reknown for his loud voice.

“Excuse me sir but what did you say.”

“I SAID SHUT UP GODDAMMIT, GATHER UP ALL REMAINING MEN TO SPLIT UP AND TRACK DOWN THE HEART AND STRAWHAT PIRATES. I WANT TO SEE YOU MOVE POST HASTE!.”

“YES SIR!.” came the immediate and enthusiastic reply from his men. All scrabbling to get into position to begin tracking both crews.

Standing alone on the bow of his warship, the vice admiral clenched his fist to the point his knuckles turned white and his fingers broke skin, spurring blood flow over his palms. he ignored all of the this, turning to the depths of his troubled mind. ‘ _Damn it all... I will prove to the world government that I DESERVED the title of admiral and not that of a lowly vice admiral. I am far too powerful to be not considered for such a position. I will start by presenting the heads of Trafalgar law and Straw hat Luffy to Marine Ford and perhaps the heads of their respective crews as a bonus_.’

With these sinister thoughts in mind, A twisted smirk grew over his face, before gradually growing into a manic grin. Such a look sent chills down the spines of any man who saw it, and his crew knew all too well what that look meant.

* * *

Meanwhile in the Polar Tangs infirmary, the Heart Pirates and their plus one were blissfully unaware of such disturbing thoughts. and were now all wrapped up in gauze for various cuts and gashes they received from the battle.

“Man what the hell was that guys problem anyway, did he have to scream so loud? my eardrums were ringing.” said complaint came from Shachi, who was bent over his knees sitting on one of the infirmary beds nearest Nami. Aside from the dress code regulated Heart pirate uniform, He had a orca shaped hat sat atop a mess of auburn hair and a pair of shades over his nose.

“I agree shach, he must be some kind of nutcase.” the agreeing party sat on an adjacent bed to shachi, however he sat up straight to look strong despite the multitude of injuries he had, A hat with thick side flaps by the name of ‘PENGUIN’ in bold letters on the front and a tiny penguin pompom on top determined the figure to be the man named Penguin. 

While Nami could relate to Shachi’s state of appearance, when looking at Penguin however, she couldn't help but imagine an emperor penguin standing proudly while flaunting his slick black feathers for anyone to see. The image it conjured made her giggle before she could stifle it with her hand, Leading to both said males to look at her with cocked eyebrows in confusion. “uh oh, I hope we haven't lost her.” “Maybe that crazy mans gotten to her, and its contagious.”

Any further remarks about her strange behavior were cut off by a smooth baritone voice coming through the door as a pair of long legs came into view before the captain of the Heart Pirates strolled through.“The only thing contagious here is your stupidity Shachi, Nami-ya has not gone crazy.” the remark was said with no bite and with a hint of humor as the surgeon wore a lazy smirk on his face as he turned toward the three of them.

“Oh hey captain whats the plan gonna be now?” Penguin asked from his spot closest to the door. “Considering how much force the subs been hit with I can imagine how badly off coarse we are now, not to mention that the straw hats could have been sent in a completely different direction.”

At the mention of her crew, Nami nervously chewed at her bottom lip before speaking up. “If I go out there I should be able to see where we are and discuss with Bepo where we can go next to regroup.”

Law, who had been leaning his back against a counter with his eyes closed replied “That sounds good to me Nami-ya after you do that, I should be announcing to everyone to bring them to the galley so that will include you as our plus-one on board.”

Nodding her head curtly, Nami moved to stand up, making sure not to disturb the bandages on her legs, she moved out of the room before heading directly to the main doorway leading to the outside of the sub. ‘ _It really is convenient to have the infirmary on the first floor in case of emergencies and quick care_ ’ She put those thoughts to the side as she was once more engulfed in the warm rays of the sun. Taking the time to briefly stretch, she looked to the logpose on her left wrist, noting that the log pose had changed its course to the left, ‘oh great, it seems we've been pushed far enough away that another islands magnetic field holds the poses direction’

the weather itself was also little help, the uncharacteristically clear sky gave nothing away other than the sheer heat radiating from the sun. ‘ _on top of that this island we’ll be heading to is a summer one.... goddamnit_.’ with one last annoyed huff, Nami sharply turned on her heel to head inside only to nearly come face to furry stomach with Bepo.

“Ah! im so sorry Nami! I just came out here to get some fresh air and cool down since the submarine has gotten drastically stuffier!.” The polar bear mink briefly panicked and politely bowed to Nami to which she quickly waved her hands at him in a placating manner hoping to cheer the Bear mink up. “ No no, Bepo! you don't have to apologize! I just didn't expect anyone coming out here yet.” “In fact, I was just wondering if you would want to help me plan out our coarse.”

“Oh?” the Mink stood to his full height and blinked down at her with his small black eyes. “Of course I will! so here-” he proceeded to zip his orange uniform back up. “Should we go do it now?”

“Oh no not yet, your captain said something about everyone gathering up in the galley soon for a meeting.” As if on cue, Laws deep voice could be heard from just beyond the door emanating from an open voice pipe. “ Everyone drop what you are doing and head to the galley as soon as possible, we need to talk about whats happened and plan our next move.” after the last word was spoken a curt ‘click’ could be heard, ending the announcement.

“See? after we know whats going on we can get to mapping out our destination alright Bepo?”

Nodding his head, Bepo turned back around to head back in, slightly disappointed in not being able to enjoy the fresh air even though the heat wasn't much better, already feeling his sweat build up in his fur and chaffing with the suits bulky material.

Noticing this, Nami rushed up to walk beside the bear. “When all is said and done, how about I brush your fur?”

Immediately, Bepos round ears perked up and a smile graced his features.”alright! that sounds good to me Nami.” oh how she couldn't resist such an adorable face! managing to snuff out the powerful urge to turn and rub Bepo behind the ears, Nami put on a serious face in the hopes of holding back. Unfortunately for her rationality, Bepos eyes continued to sparkle in glee, leading to her breaking out in a short “squee” at his cuteness.

This also happened as both were heading into the galley, leading everyone in the room captain and all to regard them with interest. Name’s short adorableness overload was cut off by Law speaking with an amused inquiry. “ What could the two of you been doing to have Bepo make that expression, and warrant that sound Nami-ya?”

Embarrassed, Nami’s face lit up like a tomato at being caught, while Bepo simply looked down and softly muttered a “sorry...”

With an entertained chuckle, the dark doctor once more turned to face the rest of the room from where he stood, out infront of all of the tables sat in the middle of the room and towards the kitchen area on the left side of the room. “whatever it is surely its not important enough to keep us waiting?”

Indignantly, Nami scoffed as she headed to a seat next to a highly captivated curly haired brunette she knew to be Ikkaku. “Even if its not important Its nothing you need to know Torao! If you want to know so badly, it'll cost you 10,000,000 belli.” 

A glimpse of annoyance at the stupid nickname passed his face before smoothing over quickly as the rest of the crew ambled in to listen to the discussion.

Nudging her elbow to get her attention, Ikkaku snickered quietly “ Ha!, you knew how much He hates that nickname and so you used it to rebuff the boss, Nice one!” Name simply shrugged in response “Unfortunately it was all I could think to say fast enough and to get away with.” 

Throughout their alliance to now after Kaido was defeated. She knew what buttons she could push before inciting the surgeon of deaths wrath. In doing so the two have now been engaging in verbal sparring matches, some of which ikkaku got to be a fly on the wall for, and others that had gotten a little bit more handsier and sensual then intended when no-one else was around.

The excuse Nami always said to herself in her mind was that it was just to see how far she could push such a handsome man before he snapped. And oh, how handsome he was indeed. Despite his tendency to be creepy along with his morbid humor to match Robins, the surgeon exuded the definition of being a tall, dark and handsome man. And not only his physical presence, but his Metaphysical one as well. the man stood with such a confident air that told everyone how powerful he was and that he knew it too. Attributes that one could tell this man would not have a hard time finding bed partners in either women or men.

Lightly shaking her head to get out of such thoughts of the man standing practically infront of her and ignoring the soft “ooo” from ikkaku, Nami took a deep breathe before focusing her attention on Law, who looked to be about ready to speak as everyone settled in.

“Alright so as far as we know, that vice admiral used his devil fruit power to send our two crews in separate directions at a speed and with such ferocity that we had no time to see where Mugiwara-yas ship went.” Law stroked tattooed fingers over his goatee as his eyes locked with Nami’s amongst his crew. “Nami-ya what could you get of our position when you were outside?”

Maintaining eye contact, Nami ran through what she could determine based off of the intensifying heat and changed course on the log pose. “- and also, without me to guide them, My crew will most likely get even further from us in their attempts to find us knowing how Luffy is.”

“S _hit,_ it seems like we will be forced to follow a new path until we can find a way back where we intended. If your captain has any brains which he likely does not, then they would go toward our original destination; Henka Island.”

Feeling somewhat guilty for mentally agreeing with the dark doctors assessment of Luffy, Nami could not argue with him, instead choosing to sit back now that his attention was being casted to others in the room.

A voice somewhere in the back called out “I hope this new island is closer than the one before, because we are desperately in need of more supplies.”

Another voice added “Yeah! like medical, food, and repairs.”

Hearing a snap to her right, Nami turned her head to see Ikkaku prop her self up to stand with her palms down on the table. Giving her captain a fierce stare she stated “Boss, as your obviously favorite and top engineer, I would like to take the time to take my team out to see how our baby is fairing.”

seeing no reason to turn her down as all points have been made and no further tasks could be done. Law gave a nod to Ikkaku as a cue for her to get going.

Smiling at that but also looking somewhat worried for her submersible home, Ikkaku called out to to her two other sub mechanics to follow her to take in damage control.

Seeing this as her time to leave with Bepo, Nami made to walk out of the room to follow the bear as everyone flowed out, only to be stopped by a hand gently grasping her right arm, minding the bandages there before letting go to delve into a jean pocket.”wait here Nami-ya, Theres some things I would like to go over with you in private.”

wondering what more there could be talked about as her mind was still filled with thoughts on their situation and focus on how she could reunite with her crew, she turned to him while crossing her arms over her chest to stare at him expectantly.

“Since you are going to be here with us for an unknown amount of time, You will have to room with ikkaku.”

Realizing he was talking about her temporary stay, Nami had to ask “And where is that exactly? you do know I hardly ever came onto your ship before this mess happened only to assist Bepo in his mapping skills in exchange for submarine navigation information and thats just on the first floor!.”

Amusement twinkled in his golden irises as he responded.”I was just getting to that Nami-ya, Ikkakus’s room is located on the floor below this one along with other things such as my room, some storage rooms, and the crews quarters and shower room. Ive taken it upon myself to show you around the specifics, but it looks like you have a date with Bepo already.” As he glossed over her ‘date’ with Bepo, the humor in his golden eyes seemed to intensify with a knowing look in them as well as a near all too smug smirk to match.

Gasping at the reveal, Nami responded by moving to shove away a non-too resisting surgeon who had gotten closer during his short explanation. “How could you possibly know anything about that?”

All too pleased to answer her his voice practically dripped with its boastfulness.”I know this because Bepo makes that face anytime someone offers to help brush his fur.”

Having little to counter that other than her promise to Bepo, Nami stuck her hip out and rested her hand over it; knowing that his eyes would be drawn to her curves and distracting him from any further teasing temporarily, she firmly stated “Sorry Torao, but aside from that ‘date’ as you called it I did promise Bepo that he and I would go over our next destination, so that tour can wait until after thats done.”

Refusing to be put off, Law quickly closed the distance between them, forcing her to walk backwards if she wanted to avoid being run into until she felt her back hit the wall next to the closed door of the galley. Looming over her with half lidded eyes, Law leaned down next to her head so that his breath could brush goosebumps over her skin as he purred “thats fine by me Nami-ya but afterwards come meet me back here so I can _personally_ show you around.”

As law moved to step back, Nami quickly brushed past him to leave the room so that he could not see the blush staining her cheeks scarlet. She barely restrained herself from slamming the door shut, picking up the pace to find Bepo as she could hear his dark chuckling emanate from the room.

The next 20 minutes comprised of Nami gently brushing through the soft white fur of Bepo as he sat next to his folded uniform in a tub specifically designed for him. A few times during which saw Bepo nearly falling asleep and producing noises oddly reminiscent to a cats purr.”Thank you so much Nami! I feel so much better now, you don't have any idea how hard it is to get any of the guys to help brush out any of my shed fur!.”

confused, Nami set the brush, now thoroughly woven with tons of white fur to the side , “But not too long ago Law told me or at least implied that most of the crew helped you out?”

Shaking his fuzzy head, Bepo corrected her. “If he meant anyone its Ikkaku, none of the guys want anything to do with my sweaty fur, especially Shachi and Penguin. But She has always been the one to brush my fur when it gets too uncomfortable.”

“Well I guess I can understand why the boys don't want to mess with sweaty fur, But I think they’re missing out on how soft it really gets after a good brushing.” To emphasize her point, Nami reached up to rub Bepo between and behind both round ears, Giggling as she saw them twitch to welcome the touch.

“Now what do you say we chart out where we are and where it is we need to go?”

* * *

After that was all said and done, she headed back to the galley where Law said he would be. ‘ _So according to those maps, we should be in around the summer island of Netsu.... and it just has to be an Island that literally defines the meaning of its name too..._ ’ Now she knows how Bepo must feel on a daily basis wearing a stuffy boiler suit in an even stuffier submarine! the poor mink may run the risk of a heat stroke if even she is getting this sweaty!

But the image she was treated with as she walked into the galley contradicted everything she just thought of. Sitting at his usual spot at the head of a table, Sat the Lanky surgeon with his feet propped up on the table nursing a fresh pot of coffee despite the heat. It seemed rain or shine hot or cold, nothing will ever separate the man from his beloved caffeine.

Finally peering up at her as she stood before him, the dark doctor chugged the rest of his coffee before setting aside the empty mug to get up and stretch a little. 

“Now shall we begin?” Not waiting for a response, he led the way out into the hall and down the stair leading to the Tangs second floor. “This floor as I mentioned before, contains my quarters and the crew cabins, male and female separated, along with a communal crew shower room. At her grimace he added- don't worry we already have a schedule based around Ikakku so it should be easy fitting you in- and finally extra rooms for storage. Minus one since that room is taken by Jean Bart due to his size.”

All of this was said in such a blast of information that Nami had little time to process where every thing is besides remembering which room was the girls cabin before Law was stalking off to the third floor.

“ This floor is relatively simple as it contains just additional supply rooms along with our two massive training and Rec rooms where the crew both trains and relaxs together.” - pausing briefly to point out the two doors across from each other as said rooms before finally stopping before a large door at the end of the hall which had many pipes leading into it from down the hall and ceiling.

The only reason Nami chose to keep quiet the whole time was because she could tell that he was tense and giving off vibes that he wanted to be doing something more important like guiding his crew to safe shores since he must have received a damage report from Ikkaku telling him that they needed to get more supplies for repairing the damage The Polar Tang sustained judging on the barely contained concern on his face. And so she kept quiet for his sake even though the coffee wasn't doing him much help with his antsy behavior.

“And finally we have the Boiler room down below us engine and all. Its highly recommended that you don't go down there without wearing the crews uniform as it is designed to be worn in there.”

Curiosity peaked, Nami had to ask “So If anything goes wrong and you’re needed down there, the captain is required to wear it too?”

Releasing a tired sigh, Law pinched the bridge of his nose. “Yes Nami-ya, it means I too have one of the ‘ugliest uniforms to grace the planet’ to wear alongside everyone else.”

Name couldn't help but giggle slightly when he chose to use her description of the bulky outfit. The only crew member on board she could think of who could pull off such a look was Ikkaku, The brunette was sexy enough in her own right to make even wearing a potato sack look ravishing.

“Now that thats over with, I have a crew to look after.” and without further ado, a blue room was quickly cast, with Law promptly disappearing along with the blue film as quickly as it came.

Now by herself, Nami could only release an exhausted sigh herself as the stress of the day finally caught up with her. As much as she got close to the Heart Pirates as allies, Nami still couldn't wait to return to her crew who hopefully were staying safe and intact.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a comment If you liked it! things like that always keeps a writer going, but I don't mind getting kudos either.
> 
> Oh and If anyone is wondering why Penguin just called Shachi 'Shach' I decided that as close as the Heart Pirates are, theres no way they don't have pet names or nicknames to give each other. A Law is not exempt from this show of nakamaship either.


	2. The Town of Ores

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Upon creating this chapter I listened to A Lonely Tune (Diva's Song) which is a MH4U ost. It gives off plenty of deserty vibes and the like while also sounding very elegant. If you'd like to take a listen yourselves, all you have to do is look up the title and there should be a video for the song.

Fortunately for Nami and the Heart Pirates, Netsu island was a lot closer than any of them realized, and most fortunate of all, the Tang was finally going to get the repairs she needed to get back in working order.

“Is it just me or is it getting hotter?” Many heart pirates chorused in agreement to that statement, as everyone had stripped out of their boiler suits with exception to Nami, in order to combat the heat. When Nami looks over to where Bepo was, she saw a miserably drooling polar bear sitting on the deck with his orange uniform now completely off. She couldn’t help but wince in sympathy for the mink, and surprisingly Uni, who had also shaken off all but his large grey bandana in favor of a thin tank top and shorts was sweating even more than anyone else.

* * *

“We just need to gather intel, supplies, and repair the ship before anything else, if this island can provide us an internal pose to Henka than that would be even better.” Refocusing her gaze back to Law, she couldn’t help but blush, even though it was for the sake of keeping cool, seeing him all sweaty and shirtless did strange things to her stomach.

“But first... Bepo, is there anyway we can hide our ship? we don’t want to announce to everyone our weakened status that would just lead to an even bigger headache then the one we have now.”

Bepo lifted his head to regard his captain with his tongue lolling out in a desperate attempt to cool down. “yes captain, I had jean bart take the helm so we should be heading towards a large open sea cavern that’s still close to the town here.”

Law nodded his head in understanding before turning around to face the sea from his position near the railings. “You all know what needs to be done so get to it.”

Without another word, heart pirates from all around began to shuffle back inside to prepare for landing. Name felt an arm wrap around her shoulders to turn her around and guide her inside. Said arm was revealed to be ikkakus.

Tossing the red head a wink, she lead them all the way to the women’s cabins before explaining what was going on. “Cap’n wants us dressed for the environment this islands in hun, among setting up for a rough landing if we need to.”

“Since you’re gonna be with us for a bit and without your wardrobe, I’m happy to lend you some of my own clothes for you while your with us.” Finally entering the intended room, Ikkaku let go of Nami’s shoulders in order to gesture to the whole room.

From what name could see, the woman dorm included a set of two bunks, a massive closet and in one corner adjacent to the doorway sat a desk with all sorts of designs scribbled on paper sitting atop it. To her, the room was quite empty as it only possessed objects meant for the singular female on Law’s crew. However, the room itself was big enough to potentially fit 3 more women in the future.

Nami was broken out of her musings when she was abruptly hit by a pile of soft wool cloth. “Here, these should fit you just fine since desert clothing is loose fitting after all.” Looking down at the bundle in her arms, Nami straightened it out over one of the unoccupied beds to reveal a long dark blue woolen robe with a silky orange belt around the middle to keep it together. the style of which reminded her of the clothes she wore on Alabasta.

Turning to regard the brunette who was currently moving to remove her boiler suit in order to fit herself into her own outfit. hers being black but with a much lighter grey silk belt to hold it closed. Smiling at the red hair’s confusion she assured “These outfits came from another desert Island the crew stopped by on the way to sabaody, Boss wanted the whole crew to have these in case we ran to anymore hot islands like that one and here we are.”

Nami returned Ikkaku’s smile before turning to put the clothing over her own usual ensemble of a bikini top and jeans. it was easy enough to fit on, wrapping around her curves like a bathrobe almost in its appearance but gave enough coverage from the scalding sun to avoid sun burns especially with the addition of a hood which she popped over her head as soon as she had strapped the cloth tight to herself.

“Thanks for this ikkaku, as soon as we get out of this mess, I’ll be sure to pay you back in kind!” Giving a fake shudder and frown ikkaku teased, “Coming from you i just hope that doesn’t come with your usual 100% interest.”

Nami gave her friend a playful elbow at the remark. “No that’s just for the boys when they act like a bunch of dumbasses, but for you I make exceptions.” In return, ikkaku bumped their hips together before wrapping her arm around her shoulders so that they can see what needs to be done in order to safely land the _Tang_ while getting the supplies they desperately needed.

When they finally arrived up to the deck of the submarine, most everyone of the crew was there, which included a certain captain and sweaty bear. And aside from them, a massive metal ramp was now leant onto the right side of the rails, ready to be placed for shore crossing.

Everyone was now dressed in desert ready garb, and if Nami looked close enough, she could see that once again, Law had his jolly roger embroidered onto the left breast portion of his own outfit in gleaming yellow thread. Exasperated at the dark doctors propensity for marking everything with his jolly roger, she rolled her eyes.

Seemingly spotting the action, a smirking captain prowled up to her in order to tower over Nami despite the heeled sandals she was wearing. “What’s wrong Nami-ya? see something you don’t like?”

Pouting in annoyance from not just his teasing remark, but also from how Ikkaku inconspicuously disappeared from her side when her captain approached, she retorted. “ Yeah I do! it’s these bland robes you’ve gotten your crew to wear.” to emphasize she began sharply poking his chest right over the grinning Jolly roger. “From a distance people would think you guys look like some cult!”

Law only responded with a chuckle moving a hand up to move a stray strand of mikan locks behind an ear, with mirth swimming in yellow eyes. before he could do anything else, Bepo interrupted with glee. “Captain! we’ll be able to enter the sea cavern soon! then we can find a way to set the landing ramp.” Law turned his attention to address the mink, leaving Nami to move herself towards a railing to see the cavern for herself and to stifle her bodies reaction to his touch.

“From what information I could glean about this Island, Netsu is a desert port that thrives on the iron ore it trades and sells. The strongest of which produced there is Magnetite. The good news is that this place is accepting of business with pirates so long as we avoid causing trouble, this should be a time taken to restock and to find out if there is an eternal pose for our intended destination. So lay low especially if marines are around.”

Nami kept an ear out for the information law had to give until his expression turned solemn before explaining. “ And I mean it, we can’t afford to goof off when that damned vice admiral is around looking for us. From my brief time as a warlord, I read up about some of these vice admirals and came across worrying info.”

All eyes and ears were firmly on the man speaking especially now that it concerned their most recent foe. “This sick individual is known as vice admiral Yaban Arashi, he is well known for his violence and aggression towards pirates that most marines find off putting. The only one to approve of this behavior is fleet admiral Sakazuki whose own policy against pirates is very similar.”

The one to voice his confusion over such a strange name was Penguin.“Hold on Law, you know that name of his roughly translates to ‘Savage storm’ right? what kind of name is that?”

“Good question Penguin, he is named by his marine moniker his real name is as of yet unknown but it seems he is a man that wants to be seen as dangerous. And if you’re wondering, I already went over things with Jean Bart so he knows what we are in for.” His speech finally ended as the submarine made its way into the cavern, inciting ‘ooh’s’ and ‘aah’s’ from the crew considering that the rocky ceiling of the caves consisted of shimmering blue stalactites.

Finally, the submarine slowed to a stop before a flat rocky shore, and from the excited cheers coming from the landing squad, it seems that it will suffice for an excellent landing sight.

After the landing squad had the metal rail settled in and tested for its sturdiness, they gave a thumbs up to affirm that it was now safe to disembark onto the island.

“All right, you guys all know your assignments and with who you should group up with so I won’t say much.” As though sensing Nami’s growing confusion he added. “But for the sake of our passenger, we’ll all need to be on the same page.”

“The group that will go to retrieve parts necessary for repairs will be Ikkaku and her team along with Jean Bart. My group will consist of Penguin, Shachi, and Clione, we will do most of the info gathering. As for you Nami-ya, You will go with Uni and Bepo to be apart of those gathering our other much needed supplies. The rest will hold down the fort until everyone returns by nightfall.” 

As much as Nami wanted to argue against being told what to do and who with, she knew it wasn’t the time or place for it, which is why she kept quiet and simply gave an affirming nod Laws way to indicate she understood.

“Then it’s settled, We should each go separately to avoid attracting too much attention to ourselves, since this is a pirate friendly island it’s best to lay as low as possible.” With that said, The tall tanned man made it clear his group was to go first as he lazily gestured to the others to follow him as he turned to walk off the ship.

With a sigh, Nami rubbed her forehead with a hand in an effort to wipe the building sweat out of the way and to stem the growing headache that was forming as an effect from being in such a stressful situation.

Feeling a furry paw touch her clothed shoulder carefully so as to not scratch her with sharp claws, Nami turned around to be greeted by Bepo and Uni’s reassuring faces. Or at least as expressively reassuring as Uni could convey with his eyes. “Everything's gonna be alright Nami! all we have to do is maybe gather food for the sub and medical supplies if we spot a store.” 

“Yup! And after that we’ll work to reunite you with your crew and get rid of the crazy dude while we’re at it.” Even though Uni was among Ikkaku and Clione in voicing their hesitance at allying with the straw hats, Uni had grown fond of such a rambunctious group that was so unlike his own, honestly, he though of it as a breathe of fresh air.

And regardless of already wearing a body covering cloak of his own, this one in shades of burgundy, Uni still wore his ever important bandana over half his face. As for Bepos outfit, His was in black and white stripes, the black fading into little individual threads as they stretched on.

“Alright if you guys say so then we should head out too.” She was still wary but the pats she received from them both helped her carry on. As she approached the ramp, Nmai turned to wave at Ikkaku who was leant on a railing close to the hatch door waiting on Jean Bart so they too could go. Seeing this, The curly haired mechanic gave a cheerful wave, moving to cup both hands over her mouth to shout back “I hope you guys save some fun for the rest of us eh?”

* * *

When they finally made their way into the town, they were all amazed by the rather urban sights it gave them. From their vantage point. each street held a cobblestone walkway filled with busy street vendors as well as it’s citizenry, with many buildings associated to the Ore they are famous for based on the steely glimmer they gave off in the suns rays.

Even more intriguing, was the massive wall seemingly built in bordering much of the town except of coarse for their path out of the caverns. ‘I wonder why such a town needs a wall that size?”

Uni gave it some thought before answering. “Who knows? my bets on the fact that it was seen from the seas that it is a way for the town to boast about the strength of their Iron ore through the creation of a wall.”

Bepo made to pipe in as well. “Well while we gather up the supplies we need we can maybe ask the locals about it as a sort of way to gather Info on this island.”

It was agreed upon that one of the first things they would get is medical supplies, which they would then return to the ship to drop off before heading back out for the groceries the galley desperately needed. It also would’nt hurt to get their own bit of info to sate their curiousity of such an equal parts rocky and sandy island.

While walking slightly behind the other two, Nami couldnt help but notice that the two sweatiest members of the crew were trying their best to maintain their composure despite literally dripping with sweat. it’s a wonder Uni doesn’t take his bandana off! but thoughts of her captains own very important straw hat had Nami not press for information for fear of stepping on some toes.

Finally making it to what appeared to be a medical supply shop, the trio turned to enter the building into what was a pleasantly surprisingly well air-conditioned room. Bepo and Uni both gave big relieved sighs at the feeling of cool air brushing their sweat-soaked skin.

Giving a facepalm in response to their behavior with a slightly hidden small smile beneath at the same time, Nami moved towards aisles of supplies Law indicated they’d get through a list he made to them. In fact, he had lists for everyone to ensure they got what was necessary.

When she had asked why the iron they were getting would not be Magnetite as it was the strongest form of ore here. Uni assured her it was the right choice considering what they knew about the mineral. “Magnetite while it is the strongest iron ore at about 70% of the stuff in fact, it wouldn’t do us any good tacking it onto the ship as it also has powerful magnetic properties which I’m sure the likes of Eustass Kid would take advantage of with his powers.”

It did her no good to be sitting around thinking about a past conversation, So she moved on to grab the various ointments and packages of gauze they need as the other two moved to do the same with other supplies, placing each item on the counter before a scrawny looking older man who ran the register.

Once they finally had everything they needed, and as they were purchasing the goods to take back with them, Nami chose this time to get some questions out of the way. So leaning onto the counter while strategically pushing her chest up with her arms crossed beneath it she began her questioning. “So mister, does this island have any sort of Internal pose for the island of Henka? me and my friends were hoping to get there as soon as possible if you don’t mind me asking?”

The old guy didn’t take long to respond after catching a glimpse of Nami’s cleavage. “A-ah sorry miss! but this island doesn’t run in the trade of Log poses the next island after this however might be able to help you once your log pose resets in a few hours!” he somewhat nervously indicated with his eyes to the log pose strapped to her left wrist. Nami could guess most of the trepidation was from seeing Bepo walk in as many people have never seen a mink before.

“If thats the case then would you mind telling me about the wall this town has put up? the sight of it caught our attention as we’ve never come across a thing like that being as big as it is.”

At this, the an immediately grew starkly pale, which was impressive due to his darker complexion. With a fearful look in his eyes he barely managed to stutter out. “D-d-d-d-on’t go near the wall miss! I-i-i-it w-w-was built for a reason! to keep those THINGS away from the town.”

Taken aback by such an unexpected reaction Nami went on warily to prod. “And what by chance are those things?” Unfortunately that was very nearly the wrong thing to say as the man looked to be on the verge of fainting. With quick action since Nami didn’t want to be responsible for giving the poor guy a heart attack, she quickly moved around the counter to stabalize the guy up right.

Finally gaining the nerve to speak the man couldn’t utter so much as a whimper of the things beyond the wall. “I-i-its those damned death worms miss! you’re as good as dead if your caught outside at night!”

regaining his balance with the assistance of Nami, he managed to finally complete the transaction for their goods waving at them as the walked out while calling out to them. “It’s for your own good!”

Thoroughly disturbed by the mans frightened reaction, the trio decided it was best to head back to the sub as quickly as possible to both deposit their goods in the infirmary and to spread the word to those on the sub what they heard to be passed on to the other groups should the return before nightfall.

* * *

After everything was put in place and the lookout group was informed while also learning that none of the other groups had returned yet, they made their way out towards town but not before Uni pulling bothe Bepo and Nami to the side abruptly to hide behind an tall boulder by the short cliffside leading to shore.

“Look over there to the port.” pointing in indication, Nami and Bepo both gasped as they laid eyes on the physical manifestation of bad news. There sat at least two Naval warships in the port. the size of which giving them a wide berth from all other ships as they sat floating side by side.

“Well shit that makes things all the more difficult for us then, I sure hope the others are alright.” Having a serious glint in his grey eyes Uni continued. “Lets try not to focus too much on the others, If we act too nervously we could draw the Marines onto us instead, so If we’re gonna head back out for the last of the supplies we need, we need to be quick and efficient and keep our heads down like Captain said.”

Taking in the situation they were now faced with, the group continued on while being sure the hoods of their cloaks stayed tight on, giving no indication to anyone from the sides who they were. Making their way into the long street filled with various vendors selling their goods, they made to be as quick as possible, grabbing fruits, vegetables and a blend of vegetable and meats to go. 

Seeing marines head down their way, they all tilted their attentions away in the hopes that they wouldn’t attract any suspicion. Eventually a group of burly looking marines came within earshot, speaking to what appeared to be a transponder snail and completely uncaring of the glares tossed their way by passing low tier criminals and locals alike.

From what Nami could quickly glean of their appearances before turning away to meander nearby stalls with the other two, she saw that the one currently speaking was tall and muscualar with smoothed back neck length blonde hair. while the other two were gorilla like in their musculature, both with brunette hair in spiky waves with minimal facial hair to match as seeming twins.

“Sorry boss, we haven’t found any of those pirates yet even though you said they should have ended up here.” Abruptly, a loud voice bellowed from the den den mushi with rage. “SORRY ISN’T GOOD ENOUGH YOU GRUNT! CHECK EVERYWHERE FOR THOSE BLASTED HEART PIRATES, I KNOW THESE SURROUNDING WATERS AS WELL AS THE BACK OF MY HAND!”

The trio could’nt help but flinch slightly along with everyone in the vicinity who were now casting scared looks at the three exasperated marines. “that’s fine and all boss just don’t go blastin’ my ear drums out okay? I’ll make sure those pirates are brought down no problem!” without further ado, the marine cut off the transmission with a ‘catcha’. One of the other two pondered for a second with a finger poking at his bottom lip before exclaiming with an ‘Aha!’ “Why don’t we ask the people around here for some clues, surely being self serving scum they’ll be willing to dish out some information?”

Seemingly in agreement, nami had little time to react as one of them soundlessly approached her from behind before roughly grabbing her shoulder to turn her around. “Heya miss do ya.... Hey! your that Straw Hats sexy navigator! the hell you doing out here? you should’ve been seperated along with your crew-.”

The marine grunt was cut off immediately and violently by being clubbed in the face by the end of a black Bo staff. At the end of said staff was Uni who had now taken a protective stance besides Nami. along with a now growling Bepo, both dropping their bags to assist. “If you want to mess with her, you’re gonna have to go through us.”

“Those must be at least two of the Heart Pirates boss was mentioning! if we can dispose of these three ourselves we just might be promoted.” ‘ _Like we’re gonna just stand and let you do that!_ ’ with that thought in mind, Nami quickly took up her Climatact from underneath the wool coat, quickly forming it in enough time to block the kick coming from the blonde marine.

With each of them engulfed in their own battles, Nami had to rely on her agility in order to dodge her opponents attacks, having no room to summon a thunder tempo to knock him out. Luckily for her however, it didn’t take long for Bepo to overpower his opponent, moving to assist Nami in keeping the marine away long enough for her to summon up some storm clouds.

“Wait what the hell is this!?” “Oh just a little thing call lightning!” Bepo jumped out of the way just in time for a bolt of electricity to fry the marine, leaving him smoking and unconscious to fall on the ground.

Both navigators assistance didn’t seem necessary as he turned to find Uni finishing his fight up with a jab to the guts and and upwards swing to clock the marine in the jaw hard. Knocking the grunt out completely.

But just before any of them could so much as smile at each other for defeating an opponent each. Nami’s vision abruptly went completely black as what seemed like a soft fabric bag was pulled over her head and face, suffocating her quickly after already losing energy from fighting. however it didn’t prevent her from lashing out with her legs, writhing widely before finally feeling a blow to the back of her neck which knocked her unconcious, But not before hearing these final sinister words from her assailant.

“The worms should be feeding well tonight on you three.” along with a deep dark sinister chuckle to accompany her fading awareness. Nami could only hope that the others would make it on time once they realized they were missing.

The only thing left now to indicate a struggle ever took place on a now vacant cobblestone street, was the squashed bags of food and two abandoned staffs, each being orange and white, and black in coloration respectively.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't resist giving a cliff hanger! so sorry if this feels shorter to you guys, originially I planned to take this further but thought that this would be a more ambiguous stopping point.  
> I also just realized while writing about the town that it has a certain similarity to a certain 'white town' minus the poisoning of course.


End file.
